Draw for Finchley and Stanmore (From Times Series)

Middlesex County Cricket League Division One clash between Finchley and Stanmore drawn

4:50pm Thursday 31st May 2012 in Sport

Finchley and Stanmore played out a high scoring draw in Middlesex County Cricket League Division One.

Finchley won the toss and elected to put their hosts into bat but struggled to make any early impression on the order.

Stanmore had reached 94 when they lost their first wicket as the opening partnership of Steve Mehra (40) and Tom Cullen (73) was brought to an end when the former was trapped leg before wicket.

Batting at number three, Mark Ramprakash (61) continued the fine scoring rate but single-figure scores in the middle order stemmed the flow.

Useful contributions late on from Marc Reingold (27) and Nicholas Goh (28 not out) helped see the home side reach 257 for eight when their innings was brought to a halt after 66 overs.

Frahan Butt bowled well to finish with figures of four for 49, while Imran Qayyum and Jake Milton both scooped two wickets apiece.

Finchley’s chase got off to a bad start as the hosts looked set for an easy victory, with Steve Selwood (11), Majed Ali (seven) and Leigh Wooldridge (one) all falling early, leaving them on 25 for three.

However, some steady scoring in the middle order, including a half century from Ayush Sahota (54) saw the recovery begin.

Joshua Knappett’s unbeaten 43 was key to the innings as Finchley eventually closed on 216 for seven.

The wickets were shared amongst the Stanmore bowlers but it was Mukesh Bhatt who ended with the best figures of two for 89.

The contest was decided in Finchley’s favour as a winning draw, meaning they have edged ahead of Stanmore in the table.

Stanmore will take on Ealing on Saturday while Finchley welcome Winchmore Hill to Arden Field.